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Chapter Sixteen – December 10 (Key West, Florida)

The next morning, I was still in that relaxation state between full awareness and deep sleep when I heard a loud knock on our door. Nick groaned and rolled over. I heard yet another knock. Sliding out of bed, I peered through the little peephole. It was Howie. I opened the door a crack.

“Good morning,” I said with a yawn. Howie grinned.

“It’s 7:00,” he said. “We dock at Key West in a half hour. I just thought I’d do the rounds.”

“Howie,” I said. I pried dried sleep off my eyelash to get my right eye open. “How come you are always wide awake and ready to go?”

He smiled. “Ah, senorita, it’s because I make sure I take a siesta any chance I get. Senor Nick, on the other hand, likes to party until he’s rendered unconscious.”

I laughed. “Thank you, oh wise one.”

Howie moved on to AJ’s cabin and I closed the door. It took several minutes of shakes and nibbles on Nick’s ear before he finally woke up.

“We’re going to be docking soon,” I said. Nick put his pillow over his head. I yanked it off.

“I’ve been to Key West a thousand times,” he complained.

“What about me? I’ve never been to Key West,” I said. “Plus your fans are going to expect to see you guys roaming around amongst them.”

Nick opened one blue eye and looked at me.

“This is a walking or biking town. You can’t bike, and I don’t want you walking a lot.”

I shook my head. “Not going to work Nick. You filmed a Nick’s corner in Key West during Hurricane Dennis and you guys were driving around. There’s no reason we can’t drive around today.”

I knew I had won when he pulled the sheets off of himself and sat up. He fell back against me dramatically.

“You scare me sometimes,” he complained.

“You scare me too. Your breath reeks,” I teased. “C’mon let’s get ready.”

Before the trip, I had read through the entry on Key West on Wikipedia. I slipped on a sundress, put my hair in a messy ponytail, and waited for Nick to do his morning ritual of brushing, gargling, plucking and dressing. He came out in board shorts and a shirt with a large palm tree splayed across the front with the words “Palms Up!” written across the bottom. After sliding on a pair of sunglasses he did a little strut on an imaginary catwalk. I laughed.

“Very nice,” I said.

“So where we going?” Nick said, glancing towards my laptop. “I’m better than any tour guide down here.”

“Well, I want to go to South Street and Whitehead Street to get a picture of the Southernmost Point,” I said. Nick nodded. I knew he had been there; that was part of his Nick’s corner video.

“Been there,” Nick said. “You know it’s really 94 miles to Cuba, not 90,” he said. I smiled. “Where else?” he asked.

“Well, I really want to go to the Hemingway House.”

He looked surprised. I had a feeling that was one Key West attraction he hadn’t been to before. “Really?”

I nodded as I stood up and slid my feet into a pair of flip flops.

“Really.”

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“Hello everyone, welcome to Nick’s corner,” Nick said charmingly. Nick was driving and looked over at the camera, flashing a big smile.

“Keep your eyes on the road,” Brian said from the backseat. Leighanne, Brian, and Baylee had tagged along with us. Howie, Leigh and baby James had gone on a biking tour. I had no clue where AJ and Rochelle had gone.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Anyhow, this is Duval Street,” he explained. I panned the camera out the window.

“This used to be my home away from home,” Nick said. “My boat racing team was down here. He pointed past me out t window. “I spent many nights at Sloppy Joe’s Bar.”

I zoomed the camera in on the sign as we passed it.

“Baylee, don’t ever go into a place that combines messy food with alcohol,” Brian said from the backseat. I stifled a laugh.

After pointing out a few more popular evening destinations, we ended up at South and Whitehead. I climbed out of the car, my camera still on. The place was humming with people, many which had come off of the cruise ship.

Along with the Littrells, Nick had thrown two big beefy security guys in for good measure. One stuck close to Nick and I while the other hovered around Brian, Leighanne, and Baylee. We made our way through the crowd towards the monument.

I had a little flashback in my mind of Nick wearing a rain poncho standing in the exact same spot during the Hurricane. I paused the camera.

“Why did you come out here in the middle of a hurricane?” I blurted out. Brian looked confused, but Nick leaned against the monument, looking thoughtful.

“I was a little depressed and a little lonely. I was also a little drunk. That’s a triple threat for stupidity.”

Nick took the camera from me; I saw him unpause and he immediately took on role of tour guide again. After explaining where we were and panning over the water; he pointed the camera to me.

“So how do you like Key West?”

“Ugh, Nick, no one wants to see me,” I complained. I reached for the camera, but he danced back. I laughed.

“I love Key West,” I said. I stepped forward and reached for the camera again, he jumped back.

“Where are we going next?” Nick asked. I smiled. “I thought you were the tour guide.”

“Don’t be difficult prego.”

I wrinkled my nose and stuck out my tongue. “We’re going to the Hemingway House next,” I said. Nick turned the camera to him.

“Yes, folks, you heard that right. Nick Carter is going to the Hemingway House. I have seen every bar and dive in Key West, but I have never even thought about going to do something that sounds like a learning experience. Be afraid, be very afraid.”

After a few more minutes of banter in which Brian and Baylee climbed up on top of the monument and sang Popeye the Sailor man, Nick stopped the camera, handed it to one of the guards and handed his cell phone to another.

“Group picture,” he said.

I let out a surprised shriek as Nick scooped me up in his arms. I heard Leighanne do the same. Baylee climbed up on the top of the monument again. I heard the guard say “Cheese” and I smiled brightly, my arms going around Nick’s neck.

So far, it was turning out to be the perfect day.

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Our stop at the Southernmost point took longer than expected. Several fans came up and asked for pictures and the guys happily obliged. It was a good thing that the Hemingway House was also on Whitehead, our time was growing short.

“Wow, that house is beautiful,” Leighanne said as we walked up to the property. My heart began to beat excitedly; I hadn’t imagined such a picture perfect place. A member of the staff recognized Nick and Brian and before we knew it was were given a private tour of the inside of the house.

“This is one of Key West’s most popular tourist destinations,” our tour guide was explaining. “While the inside is of special importance to history and literature buffs, most people find the most interest in our beautiful spacious grounds.”

We walked out to the most amazing backyard I had ever seen. Palm trees were everywhere; a bridge overlooked a large pond, and one of the most pristine swimming pools I had ever seen was surrounded by foliage, but not a leaf floated on the water.

While I was admiring the landscape, Baylee had spotted something even better. “CATS!” he said loudly. I spotted a large black cat lounging on an outdoor wrought iron patio chair. I expected him to run as Baylee made a beeline for him, but he calmly licked his leg and kept two sharp eyes on the emerging visitor.

We all followed him. I watched Baylee stroke the cats back; his eyes closed and his head turned in the direction of Baylee’s hand.

“Dad look,” Baylee said a little more quietly. He pointed at the cat’s front feet. The cat had two extra toes on each foot.

“Ernest Hemingway was given a six-toed cat by a ship’s captain and all of the cats that live here are descendants of that cat. We have about 60 feline friends that call this home.”

Nick and I spent a few minutes petting the cat and then we drifted away. Nick took my hand as we studied the pool; we walked in perfect synchronization onto the bridge I had spotted earlier.

“Look,” Nick said pointing down into the water. “It’s a Koi Pond.”

I looked down at the large fish swimming in the waters below. Lily pads in full bloom floated lazily on the top.

“This place is beautiful,” I said. Nick and I looked at each other. My eyes closed as his mouth met mine. At that moment it was hard to believe it was September; I felt like it was already August and we were about to recite our wedding vows…

“Nick!” I pulled away. He looked confused.

“What? I gargled with mouthwash this morning,” he complained.

I looked around us. The feeling of excitement I had first felt when we walked onto the grounds had come back.

“I wonder if they do weddings here,” I said slowly. Nick looked around with me. I felt his hand rest on my hip.

“All we can do is ask,” he whispered into my ear.

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An hour later we pulled back up to the ship. My heart was broken. While the Hemingway House did do weddings, they just couldn’t accommodate the number of people I knew we would be inviting.

Brian, Leighanne, and Baylee headed back onto the ship. Nick followed me out along the beach. I kicked at the sand stubbornly.

“We’ll find someplace,” Nick said. The wind tossed my hair around wildly as I looked over at him. He was carrying his sneakers in his hands; his face was slightly pink from sun exposure. He sank down on one knee and put my hand to his lips.

“I’d marry you anywhere,” he said. I looked down at him; then I looked around. White sandy beaches stretched for miles in both directions. I looked back down at him and smiled.

“I think I have a second choice,” I said. He looked around and then back at me.

We grinned.